Travelrific® Travel Journal
Picture postcards in prose.™ Check out the blogroll on the front page for official merchandise and other resources!Archive for florida
America’s Subtropical Wilderness
By Linda Tancs
Florida’s Everglades National Park forms the largest subtropical wilderness in the country. Covering 1.5 million acres of South Florida across three counties, this national treasure is a haven for rare and endangered species like the manatee, American crocodile and the Florida panther. It also preserves one of the largest stands of pine rockland in the world, a globally imperiled ecosystem. No wonder, then, the park has been designated a Biosphere Reserve, a World Heritage Site and a Wetland of International Importance. Visitor centers are located at the main entrance in Homestead (including the Flamingo Area), the Shark Valley entrance in Miami and the Gulf Coast entrance in Everglades City.
Share this:
Captiva Captivates
By Linda Tancs
Sister Sanibel may be larger, but Captiva Island in southwest Florida is just as captivating. This is the land of the Calusa Indians, a place that pirates reportedly roamed. It’s where you’ll find the ever popular Bubble Room restaurant, where it’s always Christmas. Even nature’s oddities await you here—you could discover a giant toad, a tiny starfish or an endangered Eastern Indigo snake. Captiva is just over a small bridge that crosses at Turner Beach, where a drive down Captiva Drive will net you giant cacti, colorful bougainvilleas and other tropical flora.
Share this:
Gator Aid
By Linda Tancs
Over a million alligators live in Florida, a fact not surprising to Floridians and their guests. The ubiquitous creature was even declared the official state reptile in 1987. Unwelcome on golf courses and in backyard pools, this ancient species (more than 150 million years old) enjoys a happier haven at Paynes Prairie State Park. Encompassing a 21,000 acre savanna in Micanopy (less than 10 miles from Gainesville), the park’s nature trails circling wetlands and marsh habitat provide close-up views of this once-threatened crocodilian. A National Natural Landmark, the park is the state’s first preserve, boasting not only scaly denizens but also wild horses and bison.
Share this:
Getting to Know Jax
By Linda Tancs
There are a lot of interesting things you may not know about Jacksonville, Florida. Take the ostrich farm, for instance. That’s what you would have found in the 1900s at Dixieland Park, a Disney-like attraction located around the site of the present-day Hilton at Southbank. And there’s the film industry; 30 film companies and early greats like Oliver Hardy and Fatty Arbuckle made movies there until Hollywood proved more hospitable. Even the city’s St. Johns River is unique, one of the few in the world that runs north. Perhaps the most surprising fact about Florida’s largest city is that it’s also the largest city in the contiguous United States by land mass, encompassing a whopping 840 square miles. Now you know Jax.
Share this:
Florida’s First Luxury Home
By Linda Tancs
In Deland, Florida, you’ll find a jewel of the Gilded Age, Stetson Mansion. Commissioned by John B. Stetson (of hat fame), the frame vernacular style home blends cottage, Gothic, Tudor, Moorish, and Polynesian details into a sumptuous manor house befitting a magnate of his day. Holiday regalia now adorn the halls, and special Christmas tours will operate until 15 January. Next year marks the 150th anniversary of the Stetson hat. Return to the mansion with your validated Christmas tours ticket and a paying guest for a free tour from 1 February to 1 July.
Share this:
Home of the Original Cuban Sandwich
By Linda Tancs
Plenty of American cities and states have staked their gastronomic claim to fame–Philly has its cheesesteak, Maryland boasts crab cakes, lobsters reign in Maine, etc. So who lays claim to the original Cuban sandwich? Answer: Tampa, Florida. In particular, it’s Ybor City’s signature sandwich that has local hearts all aflutter. Tampa’s National Historic Landmark District, Ybor City (the Latin Quarter) exudes old world charm with its wrought iron balconies and narrow brick streets. Founded by Vicente Martinez-Ybor as a cigar manufacturing center, Ybor City welcomed a melting pot of immigrants from Spain, Cuba, Germany and Italy. Florida’s first industrial town, it is one of only two National Historic Landmark Districts in the state.
Share this:
A Magic Kingdom Christmas
By Linda Tancs
Ho ho ho! Merry Christmas, and peace to all. Enjoy this Disney holiday video.
Share this:
A Dinner to Remember
By Linda Tancs
For those of you who think that a swanky dinner for two at Monte Carlo’s Louis XV is a wallet-busting experience at a mere $700 or so (not to mention a gastronomical delight), here’s one for the record books: Miami’s Fontainebleau Hotel is celebrating its impending 60th anniversary with a culinary offering to the tune of $1954 per couple. Called the 1954 Dining Experience, this culinary “journey” (appropriately named considering it costs as much as some summer vacations) begins with a bottle of Louis Roderer Cristal champagne and includes Petrossian Royal Osetra caviar, a 12-ounce Japanese Wagyu strip steak, an artisanal cheese selection and two sweet treats created by the award-winning pastry-making staff, among other things. Following the meal, you’ll be escorted to the star-studded LIV lounge for a wee dram to aid your digestion (but not your dwindling bank account).
Share this:
The First National Wildlife Refuge
By Linda Tancs
A host of threatened and endangered species, including Florida’s venerated manatee, call Pelican Island home. Situated in the middle of Florida’s Indian River Lagoon on the Atlantic coast, the Pelican Island National Wildlife Refuge is the first wildlife refuge in the country and has the most diverse bird population in North America. Established in 1903, the site provides a habitat for 700 species of fish, 310 species of birds, and 36 endangered species. The refuge features three trails for nature lovers. The shortest hike is wheelchair-accessible Centennial Trail, a paved path that served as the centerpiece of a nationwide celebration of the refuge system in 2003. The other two mangrove-lined trails are Bird’s Impoundment Trail and Pete’s Impoundment Trail.
Share this:
Water for Elephants
By Linda Tancs
November is Manatee Awareness Month in Florida. Despite their popular nickname “sea cow,” these aquatic mammals are actually related to the elephant. This time of year, when the waters of the Gulf cool down and subject these gentle giants to cold stress, you’ll find them instead in the balmy waters of Crystal River, less than two hours north of Tampa. During manatee season, more than 150,000 people will visit the Crystal River National Wildlife Refuge to snorkel and kayak among manatees, the only place where such interaction with this endangered and federally protected species is allowed.
Travelrific® Travel Journal 